Stuck (creatively) in the middle
Back to a familiar place - in January
Happy New Year to my readers! Welcome to 2022…where my word in intentional.
That sounds great, but as I took a break last week, and pondered how to begin the year anew…I had some housekeeping issues to attend to. I am very mindful that Holidays in general can be tough for many, and I have had to learn to just live in the moment and enjoy it for what it was. I know I am not alone in finding this past year tough - and always, always…I am mindful of the blessings I do have.
To me, this week is about setting my intentions for the year…and to know where I want to go…I have to stop and take a moment to acknowledge where I am right now.
Where I am is stuck…somewhere east of slug and west of I don’t want to screw it up. It’s a little place I’ve visited before (and probably will again)…so let’s start with some honesty.
I have always said (and had it said by others) that I am either 51% left brain and 49% right brain, or the exact opposite. Many would say that I was fortunate to have so many options. It can also be a curse, because of the paralysis it brings. That paralysis has led to today’s blog post.
I do believe that part of the issue is that if you begin with the premise that if you are pretty balanced by nature, you should be feeding both sides of your soul equally. I am not, and have not for quite some time. I had a difficult time settling down to finish Owen’s quilt (see last week’s blog post), and then I did his stocking. Early - which never ever happens.
In December, I deflected the creative urge and rediscovered my kitchen - which isn’t a bad thing. But it’s time to take a look at how I get myself out of here. And I’m hoping that you’ll join me on this journey, because being stuck is part of the journey of being a creative. It happens to many of us.
I was on a call with other creatives, and one of them said something I found very profound - actually, there were several profound thoughts, but I digress. This person had just cleaned her sewing room and was so in love with it in the pristine state that she didn’t want to make a mess. I get it - my space is so orderly, that I hate the thought of making a mess in it. But if she hadn’t articulated that, I would never have made the connection.
Sewing rooms where creativity and passion happens are most of the time quite messy…so what’s going on with mine?
Another gem from today’s call…even bad art is art. Hmmm…my 6th grade art teacher would like a word on that one…
So this group challenged me today to post (in their private group) daily for a week or two to make art. Just something small, something simple to get me back into the habit of creating. I have more research to do on this - but that’s the fun kind. And if nothing else, 2022 just gave me two weeks of daily content. I do a weekly live feed over on my You Tube channel on Tuesday’s at noon, and I’ll be talking about that more over there later today.
So in closing I have a couple of questions for you. Have you ever been stuck creatively - and if so, how did you did yourself out of the hole? Leave a comment in the post below so we can all learn to help one another.
Welcome…
Hi, I’m Linda Pearl - quilter, teacher, designer and blogger, and I’m happy to have you here. I’d like to tell you a little bit more About Me…
I’ve moved to You Tube!
Every Tuesday at noon, I do a LiveStream on my new You Tube channel for One Quilting Circle. I’d love for you to come see the latest content!
PDF pattern now available!